Walgreen August same-store sales rise 2.1 percent, total gets boost from Duane Reade stores

Walgreen August same-store sales rise 2.1 percent

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreen Co. reported same-store-sales rose 2.1 percent for August on Friday, just shy of Wall Street estimates.

Such sales are considered a key measurement of retailer health because they exclude results from stores that have been acquired, opened or closed over the last year. The sales figure doesn’t don’t include Duane Reade, which was acquired in April.

Total sales in August, which include Duane Reade stores, rose 8.6 percent to $5.66 billion.

Front-end same-store sales rose just under 1 percent while total front-end sales rose 8.3 percent. Pharmacy same-store sales rose 2.9 percent while total pharmacy sales rose 8.6 percent.

The company said a calendar day shift positively impacted the August results.

For Walgreen’s fourth quarter, which ended Aug. 31, total sales rose 7.6 percent to $16.89 billion while same-store sales rose 1.5 percent. For the full fiscal year, total sales rose 6.5 percent to $67.44 billion, while same-store sales rose 1.6 percent.

Walgreen is the largest U.S. drugstore chain. It opened 27 stores and closed eight in August. At the end of the month it ran 7,563 drugstores nationwide. It also has almost 500 work site health centers and other facilities and pharmacies.

Shares of Walgreen slipped a penny to $28.29 in midday trading Friday.